The present invention pertains to an apparatus for sensing the weight of an object and providing a digital representation of a weight range within which the sensed weight falls. Further, the present invention pertains to an apparatus for controlling the deployment of a vehicular air bag in accordance with the weight of a passenger seated in a vehicle seat adjacent the air bag.
In various applications it is desirable to obtain an approximation of the weight of an object. It may only be necessary that the object's weight be indicated to be within a weight range; the exact weight of the object not being required. By way of example, vehicular air bag systems sense an impact and deploy an air bag to protect a passenger from contact with the windshield, dashboard, or other parts of the vehicle interior. However, different restraining forces are appropriate for passengers of different sizes. Thus, for example, the air bag restraining force necessary to protect a 300 pound man is considerably greater than that necessary to protect a 50 pound child. Numerous injuries, and even deaths, have occurred due to a vehicular air bag deploying with such great force that it injures or kills the passenger it is intended to protect.